Last Friday morning, I had the pleasure of being in a audience for the two Dan’s or Dan Squared, as they joked. First, Dan Goleman–author of Emotional Intelligence, Social Intelligence, Ecological Intelligence, and others. The second–Dan Siegal– author of Mindsight, The Mindful Brain, The Mindful Therapist, and others. They are friends and shared a complimentary message–how we know ourselves is intergral to how we are in the world and what we are is social at its core.

Siegel defines “mind” as “an emergent, self-organizging procecess emering from and also regulating the flow of energy and information, within the body and within our relationships.”

It’s funny that most talk of mindfulness does not define mind, but Siegel’s definition appears very helpful and accurate. Whatever mind is emerges out of the activity of brain and we still don’t understand how that happens.

Yet this emergence is not a one way street, mind, in turn, can affect brain (as it does through mindfulness practice). Mind is a system and one that can self-regulate, that is, we can be aware of the functioning of the system and influence what it does.

Mostly what it does, he points out, is to regulate the flow of energy and information. By energy, he means physical energy–we perceive and process energy with our sensory organs and our brains make sense of this. Some of this energy takes a meaningful form and becomes information. We are not just isolated bodies–much of the information and energy we deal with occurs interpersonally. For example, the mirror neurons in our brain are paying close attention to what other people are doing and tries to create a sense of them in us. In other words–empathy. We are paying exquisite attention to facial expressions and trying to make sense of them.

Mindfulness, or lack thereof, makes a big difference on how that energy and information flow goes. Too little modulation and we veer off into chaos. Too much modulation and we become rigid. Both extremes of chaos and rigidity rely heavily upon psychological defenses and reactivity. I shouldn’t really refer to chaos and rigidity as extremes because they are so common–even for those of us practicing mindfulness. I have presented a graphic for Siegel’s “river of integration” in the picture above.

The goal of mindfulness practice is to become integrated–a place between chaos and rigidity where we can be spacious, reflective, and clear in our perceptions. We are neither impulsive nor guarded. Openness is a good way to describe integration. Open to experience, able to tolerate more, and less prone to fall back on our defenses. The world feels less threatening because we are more accurate at judging threats. We have fewer false alarms. We can move through the world with more ease when we are integrated because we are not expending resources recovering from chaos or holding up rigidity.

The more we practice mindfulness the more readily we will know when we have veered off into rigidity or chaos and the more adept we will become at extricating ourselves from these old grooved patterns to return to the river of integration. Of course, as a river that flow is different in every moment and it’s a great place to swim, so come on in!

Arnie Kozak

Recognized as an innovator in the field of mindfulness-based psychology, Dr. Arnie Kozak is northern New England's leading expert in the field. Dr. Kozak's ability to translate ancient healing traditions into pragmatic applications suitable for modern lifestyles through the use of metaphors have made him a strong voice in healthcare and business.

Beginning with a journey to India in the 80â€™s where he took the Bodhisattva vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arnie Dr. Kozak began his lifelong practice in mindfulness meditation. Intent on finding a way to bring the practical healing attributes of mindfulness he began incorporating these techniques in his private practice. In 2002 Dr. Kozak created Exquisite Mind in Burlington, Vermont as a vehicle that could expand his wisdom to larger audiences beyond individual psychotherapy to professionals and corporations, health care providers, public groups and, most recently with Exquisite Mind Golf, amateur and professional golfers. His award-winning new book, Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors for Mindfulness (Wisdom Publications, 2009) is a thoughtful, funny, and inspiring translation of mindfulness practice through the inventive use of metaphor applicable to our daily lives.

In addition to his work with Exquisite Mind, Arnie Kozak, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologistâ€”Doctorate has been a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Vermont and is a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has studied and practiced clinical psychology, meditation, and yoga for more than 25 years. He has studied with several meditation masters, including S. N. Goenka, Larry Rosenberg, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After receiving his bachelors degree with honors from Tufts University, he was awarded a Presidential Fellowship to get his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University at Buffalo. He completed his training as a Psychological Fellow at the Harvard Medical School. Prior to founding the Exquisite Mind in 2002, Arnie worked ten years in the private sector for the PKC Corporation consulting on mental health content for this revolutionary software company.